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Hikaru Shida Replaced by Kris Statlander in Owen Hart Tournament
Hikaru Shida will be replaced by Kris Statlander in the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament, AEW revealed on last night's episode of Rampage. The announcement seemed to come as a surprise to Shida, who later walked back her initial comments.
On AEW Rampage last night, Tony Schiavone informed Red Velvet that she will face her old pal, Kris Statlander, in the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament on next week's Rampage. The storyline is that Shida was injured in her recent street fight with Serena Deeb.
But Shida took to Twitter to question her injury and break kayfabe on the storyline, pointing out she's wrestled several matches since the street fight.
Shida's tweets sparked speculation that there could be heat between Shida and AEW, and that Shida may have found out about her absence from the tournament the same way we all did. But Shida followed up with an explanation, revealing that she was unable to make it back into the United States in time to complete the required physical to be cleared to wrestle next week. Shida encouraged fans to cheer on Statlander and vowed to return to AEW.
In other Owen Hart Tournament news from Rampage, Ruby Soho defeated Riho to advance to the next round.